Japan had a DVR-TVTuner version of the PS2 that we did not get. They had a video entertainment version of the GameCube that we didn't get. And they have a DVR-TVTuner version of the PS3 that we also aren't getting.

I want a PS4 with CableCARD tuning.

Sony won't do it because Sony didn't make the CableCARD, but it would be cool if they gave us that.

M$ won't do it because then you won't buy Windows MCE and it might confuse regular users on a console, but it would be cool if we could...

__________________Now Playing:Suikoden Tierkreis (3DS)Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter (PSTV)

I guess you have a good point if we're effectively paying the same price as Japan for crippled tech. That wouldn't be fair. Or are we saving money on our consoles without these features?

Well, Nintendo's policy for a long time now has pretty much "our consoles only play games, but they're cheaper" when it comes to home consoles... but they're not nearly as good at gaming as the competition. I mean as far as video and audio quality is concerned.

The thing is, when you make a big bad console with big bad graphics, sound, and the power to handle high processing activity in general, it naturally comes with the power to do other things. The only thing needed is the software to make the console useable that way. So console-makers figure "Well, it only costs a little $ to add the extra value that will go a long way towards making more sales, so its a no brainer to do it!"

I mean, if you think about it, at $200, the XBOX 360 Slim is the single best value as far as entertainment devices go.

If you're interested in that kinda thing that is. A $150 Wii + $150 Google TV + $50 wired networking adapter + $50 250GB hard drive = $400 to do the same thing you can do with one XBOX 360, not to mention the dozen other services available through it that you'd need a PC for...

Back on-topic though, I would pay upto $600 for an XBOX 720 or PS4 with dual CableCARD HDTV tuners!

I already use a seperate CableCARD tuner with my XBOX 360 but if I didn't have one, that would be amazing.

__________________Now Playing:Suikoden Tierkreis (3DS)Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter (PSTV)

I don't think MS would allow that. They want full control over their content and profits. Adding a cable card slot is like allowing your competitor full access to your customers profits. I think MS will continue to make more partnerships with more cable and IPTV providers around the world by requiring gold subscriptions.

We also got to look at the fact the 360 wasn't really design to handle all these services they are currently providing (PS3 included). If what they are doing is just a splash in the puddle, imagine what they are planning for the next Xbox. I'm imagining a splash in the ocean with all the content they have in mind for the future. What MS wants is just one box under your tv. And that box is the Xbox.

To anyone who didnt follow the MS Press conference this year, they spent almost 15 minutes of their 1:20 time limit announcing new content to their movie and tv network lineup. MS is not ****ing around when it comes to bringing multimedia content to the xbox. Thats why I say they will not allow a cable card slot in any of their boxes.

XBL is a bit more refined than PSN in Microsoft's defense. However having to hemmorage $40 - 60 a year for a service subscription does suck however plenty of people pay out $15 a month for MMOs, even more for Cable TV and crap that can be effectively replaced by Hulu/Netflix/CinemaNow/Zune. Break it down $5 for XBL, $8 for Hulu, $8 for netflix sure as **** beats out $50/month plus for Cable TV and premium movie channels.

If Microsoft were smart they'd drop the price of XBL to attract more new users and on top of that try to find a way to get people to cancel their TV scripts in trade for XBL + Hulu/Netflix/etc. Toss in a blu-ray player and there's no real reason to have anything but your console + TV anymore.

XBL is a bit more refined than PSN in Microsoft's defense. However having to hemmorage $40 - 60 a year for a service subscription does suck however plenty of people pay out $15 a month for MMOs, even more for Cable TV and crap that can be effectively replaced by Hulu/Netflix/CinemaNow/Zune. Break it down $5 for XBL, $8 for Hulu, $8 for netflix sure as **** beats out $50/month plus for Cable TV and premium movie channels.

If Microsoft were smart they'd drop the price of XBL to attract more new users and on top of that try to find a way to get people to cancel their TV scripts in trade for XBL + Hulu/Netflix/etc. Toss in a blu-ray player and there's no real reason to have anything but your console + TV anymore.

XBL already has a very high number of Gold users. They're doing so well that they actually raised the price last year.

__________________Now Playing:Suikoden Tierkreis (3DS)Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter (PSTV)

If it wasn't for blackout restrictions on sporting events for local teams, I would have no use for cable or satellite programming. I use Hulu, Netflix and other streaming services to get my fix.

It's a heck of a lot cheaper getting my video fix on the xbox then having to maintain a satellite subscription. The Xbox interface is much more refined than the PS3 and much more intuitive and responsive than my Satellite reciever.

One day when broadcasters wake up from the stone ages then blackout restrictions will be a thing of the past where it belongs.

MS decided to wait as long as they could before sales started staling. The hardware was good enough to go the distance and let them transform the product year after year after year. Sales numbers for May:

Sounds interesting, although its kinda worrisome that they seem to really be focusing on potentially gimmicky things. With the XBOX 360 they focused on the games and built around it to build an experience.

That document seems to be about peripherals rather than software...

__________________Now Playing:Suikoden Tierkreis (3DS)Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter (PSTV)

If it wasn't for blackout restrictions on sporting events for local teams, I would have no use for cable or satellite programming. I use Hulu, Netflix and other streaming services to get my fix.

It's a heck of a lot cheaper getting my video fix on the xbox then having to maintain a satellite subscription. The Xbox interface is much more refined than the PS3 and much more intuitive and responsive than my Satellite reciever.

One day when broadcasters wake up from the stone ages then blackout restrictions will be a thing of the past where it belongs.

Yeah the deaths of Dish and DirecTV are immenent. Cable providers are already set up to handle the web TV, but they're resisting because they want to squeeze the last drop out of their existing digital TV services.

As it is, Cablevision is pretty much IPTV. The cable boxes are just really narrow computers that are only good for basic networking and decoding MPEG2.

Cablevision would be smart to work out a deal with Microsoft where you get your $80/month TV service with a partially subsidized XBOX 720 to watch it on instead of these shitty cable boxes...

__________________Now Playing:Suikoden Tierkreis (3DS)Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter (PSTV)